Hometown Letterbox LbNA # 24599

Update on 5/30/2011: I just retrieved the box. As reported the stamp and logbook were both missing :(. Will replace soon.

In 1966 a detachment of United States Airmen serving overseas selected Verona as "the perfect example of Hometown U.S.A." The men who made the selection were in the 101st airborne of the U.S. Army who were inspired to write about Verona after the community newspaper printed a brief letter from a serviceman whose home was in the Verona area.

The men of the Detachment, under the coordination of Sergeant A. W. Wilson, wrote a letter, which follows, in part:
"I am writing this at the request of the entire detachment. We have come from all over the country to fight in this war to preserve the United States."
"One of our members is from your town. The spirit shown by the printing of his letter has helped the morale of our unit. It is a rare thing for us to receive any recognition at all, let alone have one of our men, Donald R. Schmid, have a relatively unimportant letter printed."
"We have chosen your town as the perfect example of Hometown, U.S.A. Though many of us have come from big towns, we have decided that it is the little town that personifies our country. We would be proud if you would allow us to take your town as our own."

Verona felt and continues to feel honored that it was selected as “Hometown USA”

To find the Hometown Letterbox, park on the street at the end of Basswood Ave. behind the Verona Area High School. Walk through the gate on the paved path. At the top the hill on the right are 3 pine trees. Behind these three pines is a small pine grove. Enter the grove through the opening in the center. Once in the pines, there is a pile of rock to the right, and a small path through the grass straight ahead. When you come out onto the main path, just to the right is a orange post marker, follow this path to the right. As you are walking this path, there is a view of the high school on the left. Cross an asphalt path, staying straight on the dirt/grass path. As you follow along this section of the path, Cross Country Park is off on the right. In the distance to the left you will also see the lights of the playground of the Verona Wildcats! Continue following straight past Jerry’s rock and then follow the southwest path. Once you enter the woods, take the uphill path. As you round a turn on the path, notice the large cherry tree with 3 giant knots on the left side of the path. Stay on the trail past the homes and try to ignore the barks of an extremely territorial dog. As you continue on the path, off to your right you will see a lovely view of Harriet Park and the Verona Watertower. Soon on the right you will see a large oak tree with a large arrow pointing left and a fallen tree at its roots. Soon after, there is a large oak on the right side with an arrow pointing to the right. In the opposite direction of the arrow, just off the trail there are 3 large rocks. Under the middle rock is the Hometown Letterbox.

Before you set out, please read the
waiver of responsibility and disclaimer.
Please be sure to reseal baggies and boxes carefully so that they stay dry
and rehide boxes in their original location, completely hidden from view.